There are always things we know we should be doing. Things that get forgotten or de-prioritised in daily life.
But the New Year is the traditional time to make a change and correct the error of your ways. It’s the perfect time to reflect on your work and make a few resolutions which will improve your efficiency and productivity in the forthcoming year.
Here are just a few quick reminders of what you should be doing in each campaign you send. Smart ways to improve the performance for each of your clients’ campaigns without increasing your workload in 2017.
Keep it brief and to the point
53% of people read emails on mobile which means your client’s emails must look good and function on the go (Litmus, 2016). Typically mobile email portals cut subject lines short, only showing between 30 – 70 characters including spaces (Econsultancy, 2014). According to one study, the shorter the subject line the better, with the best performing length being just 15 characters (Econsultancy, 2012).
And when it comes to recipient behaviour on mobiles remember emails are often scanned – not read. Ensure calls to action are clear, copy is to the point and buttons can be easily clicked with ‘fat fingers’.
Re-target non-opens every time
This is one that easily gets forgotten by agencies and clients. All too often marketers are busy creating new campaigns on email and forget that they can save time by optimising the performance of old campaigns. If people haven’t opened an email then they’ve not seen the content so there’s no point in starting from scratch by creating a brand new email. It may have just been received at the wrong time or the subject line just didn’t appeal. Instead of moving quickly onto the next campaign, take the people who’ve not opened your last email in 24 hours and re-target them with a different subject line.
Perform A/B testing
Behaviours and attitudes change which is why it’s always important to carry on testing what you think you know. Perform monthly tests on your email marketing by producing two versions of the same email and looking at the results. There’s a whole host of elements to test from imagery, copy, subject lines, send times, segments, calls-to-action and promotions. Choose one of these elements each month and perform regular A/B tests which prod your basic assumptions to check your knowledge is current.
Focus on automated journeys
Agencies will be asked to design more customer journeys so don’t forget to focus on these when you’re speaking to them about their email marketing performance. We’re moving towards a time when most of our email activity will based around automated emails triggered by particular customer behaviours such as purchasing, browsing, replenishment, propensity to purchase and loyalty. These automated messages are more relevant to the customer as they’re sent in response to their behaviour. In fact, researchers report relevant email communications drive 18 times more revenue than mass broadcasts (Jupiter Research) making each automated email you send more efficient at generating ROI for the client.
Join-up your approach
As an agency you can be brought in to help a client with just one element of their marketing. Often that one element influences others and you can find yourself discussing the client’s entire marketing strategy with them. Make sure your client’s emails are being used in conjunction with other marketing methods to optimise the results. Don’t assume a client knows they should follow-up click-throughs with calls or other emails. Make sure the client knows how email should be used as part of the marketing mix.
So there are your five resolutions that will improve your efficiency, productivity and credibility as an email marketing authority. All these are tips you can use to educate and impress clients who are eager to learn best-practice in email marketing.
And unlike most New Year’s resolutions they’re practical and realistic. Things you can incorporate in everyday business so they become second-nature.
If you want more hints and tips on email marketing then don’t forget to contact our Agency Team.
